SENIOR Tory Michael Gove and his journalist wife Sarah Vine are to split after almost twenty years of marriage, a joint spokesman for the couple said.
The high-profile couple married in October 2001 but have decided to end their relationship and are “in the process of finalising their divorce”.
Their spokesman told the PA news agency: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising their divorce.
“They will continue to support their two children and they remain close friends.
“The family politely ask for privacy at this time and will not be providing any further comment.”
READ MORE: Michael Gove ‘likes’ Twitter post attacking Matt Hancock’s ‘cruelty and greed’
Vine, a columnist for the Daily Mail, wrote last week, in a piece about former health secretary Matt Hancock’s resignation, about how Westminster life can drive a wedge between partners.
Talking about David Cameron, Vine said he was "unique among all the senior politicians I have ever known, he was absolutely brilliant at carving out time for his family".
She added: "It is very hard to do these high-level, high-pressure, high-stakes jobs unless you have someone prepared to take up the reins in every other department of your life.
"But the problem is that inevitably sets you on different tracks. You become so entrenched in your respective roles that you begin to drift apart."
READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: Dispensing with 'former friends' is nothing new for the Goves
Vine also said that "climbing that far up Westminster’s greasy pole changes a person".
A friend of the couple said: “This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after twenty years of marriage.
“It is an entirely amicable separation and there is no-one else involved.
“They have drifted apart over the past couple of years but they remain friends.
“Their absolute priority is the children.”
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